Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1887-02-02
HELD UP"
The Story OF q Train Robbery
on a Western Railroad,
An Account Written to Show How Brave
Men Gan Be Inundated.

saw an editorial in newspaper the
other day roundly abusing the passcn-
gers on train on Western railroad who
allowed themselves to be "gonc through
by trio of robbers, and the editor
closed by clubbing them set of arrant
towards. That's the way it probably
looked to q great many Others, but let us
view the matter from Tie inside of the
train.
Five or six years ago | was booming
along over an Arkansas railroad, and the
time was II o'clock p. IN. The ono
sleeper on tho train had every berth
taken, and the two passenger coaches
were pretty well filled with men, women
and children. There were twelve men
in the sleeper. OF these eight had their
wives along. had revolver, and
presume most of the other men had. We
were all asleep, and the train had stopped
at watcr-tank in lonely spot, when
three dcspcradocs boarded the train.
One got on between the two passenger
coaches, threw open both doors, and
standing on the platform in such way
that he could guard both coaches, he
shouted:
"Now, then, the first one who makes
move will get dose OF buckshotw
He had double barrclcd shotgun,
and had he fired into either car three or
four or five people must
have been hit. The second rob-
Der got on between the last coach and
the sleeper, and the third on the rear
platform Of the sleeper itself. Both doors
Of this last car were thrown open TO-
gcther and the two men entered from op-
posite ends. We were awakened from
sweet slumber by one OF them calling:
"Now, gents turn out your valuablcsl
We don't want to hurt nobody, but if q
trigger is pulled we'll open fire on the
whole car"
Well, now, what would that bcllgcr-
emit editor have done under the circum.
Stancesl They were desperate men, bent
on desperate work, and held human life
as worth no more than u pound of dog.
meat. His revolver would have been in
his pantaloons at the foot of the birth,
rs mine was. His wife would
have begged him for Gods sake to give
up everything, as mine did, and as all
the other wives did. lie would have
realized, as VIC all did, that no revolver
could be pokcd out from behind the cur
tans without being seen in second, and
that one single shot from any one of us
would have exposed each side of the car
to fusiade of buckshot. 1t would have
been the same had we been up and
dressed and in our seats. There would
have been man to face us and another
behind our backs. Just take scat on a
chair, and sec how quick you can
pull a pistol from your hip
pocket. Note the movements you
have to make, and then as
scrt, if you dare, that you could get the
drop on two men whose hawk eyes were
watching the move of every finger.
The conductor and baggagcman and
brakeman were in the baggage car.
They all had rcvolvcrs, but they saw at
once that q shot from them would be the
death of three or four passengers. A
bullet may miss bya hairs breadth;
buck shot can't help but hit.
The two men came down the car, each
with his gun in his left hand, and knife
and revolver in his belt, and stopped at
each berth. l had $lS5 and a gold
watch and diamond pin. My wife had
$135 Of the money and the watch and
pin before the fellows got to us. l
handed out the other fifty, and as it was
crumpled upit looked like a big roll.
can right-that's business ~ chucklcd
the man as he received it. "Now for
your tickcrs."
"Ncver had one"
ooh, you didn't I'll look for that as
I come back"
In this way the two fellows passco
each other, taking whatever was handed
out, and as they reached the ends Of the
car one of them fred a shot which went
through the ROOF, and next moment they
were off. No one in the passenger
coaches had been robbed, and no one on
the train had been injured. Why Be-
cause all had exhibited common sense.
That so-callcd bravery which the editor
referred to signs for, might have tempted
some one to fire his pistol. The result
would have been the killing of half OF
us; those men boarded The train with
the determination to kill whoever re-
sisted them, and they probably would
nave done it,
And let Inc say that among the "cow-
ards" in that sleeper were five cx-amy
officers, Nlississipian who had fought
three ducls, and two or three other men
who would have shot down the mn who
impugncd their bravery. Detroit Free
Press.
Arraycd in All His Glory,
In Washington army and navy officers
are in their glory, and when in uniform
are in q double glory. A correspondent
writes: 81 know one naval officer, young